Texas A&M @ Alabama preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2019 ) Alabama 56, Texas A&M 65

A pair of SEC teams that are sitting at .500 in conference play this season square off on Wednesday night when Alabama hosts Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide come into this game off an 88-82 victory over LSU on Saturday, while Texas A&M beat Georgia 74-69 last weekend.

Senior forward Josh Nebo has been the top scoring weapon for the Aggies, averaging 11.4 points while shooting 67.1 percent from the floor in conference games. Freshman forward Emanuel Miller (6.8 points, 6.6 rebounds) has been coming on of late, averaging 20 points over the last two games, including scoring a season-high 21 in the win over Georgia. Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. has been outstanding for the Crimson Tide, leading the team in scoring (17.5 points), assists (5.0), steals (1.9) and minutes per game (37.7). Freshman guard Jaden Shackelford has also been a solid option, averaging 14.3 points after putting up 18.7 per game while shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range over his last nine contests.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (12-12, 6-6 SEC): One of the things coach Buzz Williams was happy about after Saturday's win is free-throw shooting, with the Aggies draining 21-of-29 in the contest. Following the victory over Georgia, Williams pointed to the fact that his team was able to rally from 12 down thanks to getting into the bonus early in the second half and making their foul shots. Georgia committed its seventh foul of the second half with 11:51 to play, and Texas A&M took 20 free throws from that point - making 14 to close out the victory.

ABOUT ALABAMA (14-11, 6-6): Coach Nate Oats is not letting his team give up on its NCAA Tournament dreams, even with just 14 wins on its resume with six regular-season games to go. Oats pointed out to his team that Auburn, which made the Final Four a season ago, was 6-6 after 12 conference games, so anything is possible. A win over LSU certainly helps the Alabama case, and with four of the team's final six games against schools sitting at .500 or worse in conference play, the door is certainly open for a run to close out the regular season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Texas A&M forced a season-high 21 turnovers in the win over Georgia, the most by an Aggies opponent since December 2015.

2. The Crimson Tide have already set a school record for most 3-pointers made in the season with 269, breaking the mark of 259 set in 2015-16.

3. Alabama leads the SEC in scoring at 83.2 points per game, while Texas A&M is last in the conference (61.2).

PREDICTION: Alabama 79, Texas A&M 65